Soul Splitting 101
by nycm-e-t
Summary: 9, 7, 4 and 3 have spent years guiding humanity away from the horrible war. Can humanity pay them back? Or will they refuse to give up their souls to bring their lost friends back. And if they say yes, what does the future hold for us all?
1. Prologue The 1st Split

"Do you think it really could work?" 9 asked as Dr. Jeden placed the last two pieces together. Jeden turned towards the stitchpunk and nodded. He heard the pieces click together and turned back to his work. The machine looked just like the one that 3 and 4 had showed him and the five humans necessary for the recreation were all here, but nothing could be certain. The doctor who had created the stitchpunks had recorded the creation process in great detail, but he had not covered bringing dead stitchpunks back to life. But this was all the surviving stitchpunks had wanted ever since the humans had come back. Jeden had to at least try.

"Okay," Jeden stepped away from the machine to let the four look it over. 3 and 4 climbed all over the machine, their eyes flickering at each other the whole time. 9, not knowing the details of the machine, simply walked around it and gave it a tap here and there. "Everything seem alright?"

3 and 4 flickered their eyes for a second and then nodded at Jeden. "Perfect," Jeden smiled with the stitchpunks. "Then, all we need are the other four humans."

At that moment, 7 walked in through a small hole in the wall. "The others are ready if you are, Jeden."

Jeden nodded. "Then let's bring them in."

7 nodded and left through the hole. A minute later, four other humans walked into the room, one of them holding a small box. The soul-circle began shaking, almost humming when the four others came in. No one was shocked by this because every time one of the humans came near the soul-circle, it would vibrate a little and when everyone was near it, it shook like crazy. This was how they had been identified as The Numbered; this was how the stitchpunks knew that there was a chance to bring the others back.

Mark Twee, an engineer, was very nervous (as usual). After all, he had designed the new bodies; all he could do was pray that they worked like they had in the past. Ron Viisi, a seamster, was also a bit nervous since he had helped sew the dolls together so that they'd look like their past bodies. Their creations rested in the small box that Christopher Shida now placed on the table. Everyone had been a little worried about Shida since he was only eleven years old. However, after a lot of convincing, Shida had gotten everyone to believe that he could make it through the procedure. Evan Atte, an environmentalist, opened the box and lifted one of the bodies out of the box.

"Does this body look like 1?" Evan Atte placed the body on the table and let the stitchpunks look the body over.

7, 3 and 4 looked the body over and nodded. "This body is perfect, right guys?" 7 asked the others.

3 and 4 nodded and then looked around for 9. He was over by the box, looking into it. 9's put his hand on the edge of the box and stared at the two bodies that mattered most to him. 7 came behind 9 and placed a hand on his shoulder. It was no secret that 9 still blamed himself for 2's death and even for 5's death as well. No matter how much convincing was done, 9 could not be swayed. It was even rumored that he was only doing this as some form of forgiveness. But The Numbered knew better; they knew how sad the stitchpunks had been since the lose of their friends.

"Don't worry, 9," Viisi sunk to his knees and placed his fingers on the table's edge. "None of them blame you. In fact, they'll be proud that you worked so hard to bring them back! This is all thanks to you."

9 gave a nervous smirk towards Viisi, then to 7 and then back to The Numbered. "Thank you."

After a moment of silence, Atte said, "Well, what are we waiting for. Jeden, I think you're first?"

"Yes..." Jeden had volunteered to go first since he had made the machine and, as Shida had pointed out, Jeden's number did come first.

4 picked up 1's body and started dragging it to the machine. 4 almost dropped the body, but 3 ran over and caught it. The two dragged the body up to the shackles where 7 had climbed up and was waiting to strap the body to the machine. 9 pushed the mask towards Jeden, who tried to pick it up without shaking. The rest of The Numbered waited, tense. No one knew what would happen and everyone wanted to be present to see what Jeden's fate would be.

7 finished hooking 1's body into the machine and jumped down, 3 and 4 following suit. 9 gave one last look at Jeden before stepping aside. The mask was heavy as Jeden raised it to cover his face. 4 and 3 climbed up a switch and started pulling it down. Atte walked over to them and shooed them aside so that he could push the switch down. Jeden raised a hand, waiting to give the signal to Atte. Finally, when 1's body was in the middle of the circle design on the mask, Jeden waved his hand. Atte pushed the switch down and a green light began to glow around he mask. A bolt of green light shot from the mask into the machine and into 1's body. Suddenly, a sharp pain shot into Jeden's heart. He could feel a part of him ripping inside and burning to ashes. The feeling spread through his whole body until he couldn't feel anything other than the burning sensation. Jeden gripped the table in pain and bit his lip. Then, as quickly as the feeling had spread, a feeling of emptiness began to move towards his heart.

_No,_ Jeden thought. _I don't want this to be the end. I don't want to die like this. Some other way... Some other time... Not with Shida... I want to know... Did it work... What's happen... Am I alive?_

And, as his body began to fall, he saw it move. Jeden closed his eyes as he fell. At least he knew.

And with that, Jeden's soul was in 1's body.

I know, the prologue is confusing, but it's all going to be explained later. I promise! Pleases stick around for the next chapter before you decide you're against it. Also, anyone who can figure out why the characters have such weird names gets a mention in the next chapter. I don't own 9 (but I do own The Numbered).


	2. 1 and 5 Return

Woooooooooot! Alright, my first reviewer, KnucklesRedFury207.2 got the name meanings right! Congrats, Knuckles! This chapter is dedicated to you. Alright, here we go with chapter 2 of Soul Splitting 101! P.S. I don't own 9.

"Jeden!" Viisi ran to his fallen friend and turned him over. Jeden was awake but his breathing was labored. Shida started shaking him until Twee pulled him away, reprimanding him for being so rough.

9 jumped onto the chair Jeden had been sitting in and looked over the scene with worry. If The Doctor had been able to split his soul nine times, everyone had assumed that The Numbered would be able to split their souls at least once.

After a moment or two, Jeden's breathing began to slow. He tried to push himself up, but fell into Vissi's arms trying.

"You need to be more careful," Atte said as he lowered 3 and 4 from his palm to Jeden's side. "This experiment has left you very weak."

3 and 4 began climbing all over Jeden, cataloging his reaction to the soul-split.

"Get off of him!" Twee said, almost swatting 3 and 4 aside. The twins jumped off and ran into a hole in the wall. They reappeared on the table and hid behind 7.

"It's alright, Twee," Jeden said, trying to push himself up a second time. Viisi wrapped an arm under Jeden's arms and help him stand up. Jeden pointed to the machine. "Look."

Everyone turned and stared in shock. 9 couldn't see what was going on, but Shida was there to pick him up. 9 stepped towards the machine in shock.

1's body was moving. His eyes slowly started opening. 1 blinked twice and began looking around. What's happen… Am I alive? 1 couldn't wrap his head around it. He heard his number being called. Was that 7? Is that… There are humans… THERE ARE HUMANS!

1 opened his eyes wide in shock. He looked from side to side; 3 and 4 were unstrapping him from the machine while flickering their eyes at him. He looked around the room again. This was the room he had first woken up in. But there were people in it. Living people! There was a child among them and one of them he could have sworn he'd seen before.

Something moved over on 1's right. He quickly turned and saw 9 stepping towards him, but 9 quickly backed away when he and 1 made eye contact.

The twins finished unhooking 1 and lowered him to the ground. 1 took one step forward. Then another. And another. Everyone stared in awe. 1 really was moving; this was no trick, 1 was alive again!

"Wha... What is this?" 1 asked, looking up at the humans (all of them staring intently at him).

"We... brought you back..." 7 was careful about speaking, as if speaking to quickly would somehow ruin the moment.

"But how?" 1 turned back towards her. "The soul-circle took me. And then you set me free. But, when I was sent into the sky, things were so different..."

"Mr. 1, please let me explain," Viisi couldn't take his eyes off the new stitchpunk.

"Viisi," Shida interrupted, "it would make more sense if 3 and 4 explained it."

Everyone turned to the twins, who were staring at 1 with there mouths wide open. After a second, 4 looked at the others and realized they were waiting on them. 4 nudged his twin to alert him to their present situation. 3 looked around at the humans almost sheepishly (as sheepish as a stitchpunk could look) before facing one of the blank walls and letting the recording play.

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It was the first time the stitchpunks had seen rain. The fire they had lit for their lost friends was starting to die. 7 held out her hands and caught a few drops. 3 and 4 copied the female stitchpunk, eyes flickering back and forth, cataloging and talking to one another about their amazing find.

9 walked closer to 5's grave and ran his fingers over the number. The rain soaked into the cloth; 9 grabbed the cloth and curled his hand into a fist. This rain was nice and very interesting, he was just sad that they only got to see it because of their friends' sacrifices.

"3! 4!" 9 turned as he heard 7 shouting at the twins, who were running towards the factory. "Come back!"

The two stitchpunks refused to listen and continued jumping over rubble and running towards the former battlefield. 9 and 7 were in hot pursuit when 9 tripped over something. He rubbed his leg and looked back at what he'd tripped over. He had no idea what it was. It was a very strange thing, it was green and it came up in an odd shape from the ground. What was even stranger was that it was getting bigger at an alarming rate. 9 turned around to call the others over so they could see this weird thing but 7 had already stopped and was looking around. 9 felt something moving under his feet. He lifted one up and saw more green stuff growing from the ground, but this was a lighter green and it grew in thin strips.

7 walked towards a piece of rubble that now had fuzzy green stuff growing on it. "What is this?" she asked.

"I don't know," 9 said even though it was obvious none of them knew what was happening. "Maybe 3 and 4 would know."

The green stuff was spreading and growing bigger. "Let's go find them," 9 quickly added as he backed away from the large green thing he had been looking at.

The two started running after the twins, increasing their speed so that they could find them before the green stuff grew to a point where they couldn't find each other. The rain increased and even though they were still far away, they could see the factory turning green. 7 was the first to see the twins running back to them. 4 grabbed 7 and began pulling her towards the factory. 3 ran up to 9 and started signaling towards the factory, his eyes flashing as if he was trying to tell 9 something but didn't know how to.

9 and 7 looked at each other before running with the twins. 3 and 4 took them a few feet closer to the factory before pointing at something. As they grew closer, 9 realized it was a human's body that was beginning to decay. Why are they so interested in this? 9 thought.

As if to answer his question, the body started moving. Everyone took a step back at this. Even 3 and 4, who had found the body, ran behind 7 for protection. The body rolled over so that his back was visible to the stitchpunks. They saw a wound in his back, clearly from a gunshot. And yet, as the rain fell onto the body, the wound began to heal; even the decay began to disappear. Suddenly, 9 noticed hundreds of humans starting to rise up from the ground. All of them were soaked in rain and, what was the strangest part about it, their wounds were glowing green as they began to heal.

"Was-," 7 paused, then continued, "was this our creators intention all along?"

9 looked in awe. The human in front of them pushed himself up, but, just before he stood up, he noticed the four stitchpunks looking at him. He stared at them for a moment, not knowing what to say. He looked around him, then back to the four, wondering if they knew what was going on. And then he asked them the one question they weren't expecting.

"Are you 9? 7? 3 and 4?"

The stitchpunks stared with their mouths wide open. Not only were the humans alive again, but they KNEW who they were.

More humans had gathered, each one with the same question. 9 looked around and realized, the humans were looking to them for answers. This was what their creator had intended. He had wanted the machine's soul to be released to bring the world back to life and had wanted them to help rebuild society.

The four stitchpunks looked at one another. Someone had to step foreward. 9 looked back at the humans and walked up to them. "I'm 9. This is 3, 4 and 7." 9 smiled at the humans. "We're here to help you."

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3's eyes stopped flickering and he fell back into his brother's arms. 1 could not believe what he had just seen.

"Look," 7 said and ran towards the window. 9 smiled and followed her, helping 1 walk over to it.

1 knew that they hadn't been lying, but the whole thing had still seemed absurd. That was, until he saw what was outside the window.

He could still remember the wasteland and the factory, but these things had all been replaced. Now the land was almost all green and, where the factory had been, there was now nothing but large plants, plants he could vaguely remember having been there before the war haddestroyed everything.

"Those things are trees," 7 said pointing to the large plants.

"And all the stuff on the ground is called grass," 9 interjected.

"The smaller plants are bushes,"

"Except for those. Those are plants for food,"

"And flowers! 1, the flowers grew back!"

Even 3 and 4 were pointing in different directions, each stitchpunk eager to show off the new world. 1 was overwhelmed by everything he saw, even excited (which was an odd feeling for him). But even seeing the wonders of this new world could not take his mind off of one crucial question.

"But... how am I here?" He turned to 9, then to 7. "And how do I have all of my memories."

9 placed a hand on 1's shoulder and nodded towards the 5 humans in the room. "It's all thanks to them."

"They came up with a theory that, since your life sparks had brought their souls back to life, maybe pieces of the doctor's soul that he had given to you, your individual souls, might still exist deep within their own souls." 7 began explaining.

"It was really all Jeden's idea," Atte insisted.

"Yeah, Jeden is the mastermind behind this," Shida agreed.

Jeden, who was now able to stand on his own, just shrugged. "It started to make sense the more time I spent with you stitchpunks."

1 looked at 7, still not understanding what was going on.

"You see," 7 continued, "Dr. Jeden helped look after us and make sure we were healthy. Since we're pieces of a humans soul, Jeden thought we would need some medical attention to make sure the human part of us was healthy.

"After spending more time with us, Jeden confessed something. He had been troubled by these memories, memories that weren't his own. He told us a bit about them and, in perfect detail, he described hiding in the cathedral and even my departure."

1's eyes widened. "Those are some of-"

7 nodded. "He remembered things that you had been through. That was when we started thinking maybe your soul was dormant, asleep in Jeden's own soul."

"And of course," 9 cut in, "that made us think that the other's souls might be dormant in other people."

"So," 7 continued, "we began asking around; we were trying to see if anyone else was plagued with memories that weren't theirs. And that's how we found the others."

Viisi stepped forward. "I remembered finding 9 in the wasteland. And the record you played outside the factory."

"I remembered 2's capture," Twee said, shuddering a little at the thought.

"I remembered the machine and seeing it right before…" Atte stopped talking at the thought of 8's death.

"I remembered how many drawings 6 did!" Shida chimed in. Everyone giggled. Of all the things to remember, Shida had only remembered 6's drawings.

7 finished, "So, Jeden decided to try and rebuild the machine that our creator used to try and pull your souls back out and into new bodies."

"We tried to copy them exactly," Viisi explained. "Did we get it right?"

1 looked himself over. "Yes," he murmured. "You got it perfectly," he added in surprise.

"We figured that, since your souls weren't really a part of our souls," Atte explained, "that they would be the ones transferred into the bodies instead of pieces of our own. Looks like we were right."

"It might have helped that the bodies we made were so similar to their original ones," Jeden guessed.

"Well," 1 said after a long pause, "am I going to be the only one you set free or are we going to awaken the others?"

The stitchpunks smiled at this and began taking 2's body out of the box.

"Alright then, Twee," Jeden said while lifting the mask up. "It's your turn now."

Twee looked at the mask like he had forgotten it was his turn next. "W-wait! I… I'm not ready to do this. I'm still…"

"It's okay," Viisi laid a hand on Twee's shoulder. "I'll go before you. Then you can go."

The stitchpunks were a little confused at Twee's fear. The machine had worked perfectly with Jeden, what made Twee so nervous?

Viisi sat in the chair and raised the mask. 3 and 4 finished putting 5's body in the machine. Atte waited by the switch again and, just like before, flipped it on Viisi's signal. Viisi felt an emptiness overcome him instantly. It was as if he had the wind knocked out of him and then had it filled up quickly; he could feel the air, the emptiness, floating through him. It was painful for maybe an instant, but then it was nothing, not even numb, just nothing.

The green beam stopped and Viisi fell out of the chair. The humans ran to his side again and 1, 3, 4 and 7 ran to the edge of the table to see if Viisi was okay. 9 couldn't take his eyes off the body of his best friend, waiting for the first sign of movement.

"Viisi, are you okay?" Shida was right by his cousin's side, careful not to shake him and be yelled at again.

"I... I'm having trouble moving," Viisi said.

"Moving what?" Jeden asked.

"Everything," Viisi said glancing in Jeden's direction.

"5!"

Everyone turned and watched 9 climb the machine and begin to unhook 5.

"...9?" 5 seemed grogy as he fell out of the machine. 9 caught him and helped him stand up.

He smiled at his newly awakened friend. "Are you alright?"

5 was distraught at first, but when the stitchpunks explained everything to him, he seemed a lot more at ease with what was going on.

"I'm sorry about your eye," Viisi said. He was starting to get control of his limbs again. "But, see, we were worried that a body that was too different from the one you were would not attract your soul."

5 rubbed the empty spot on his face and smiled. "It's okay. Having one eye will help me focus on one thing at a time."

"This is wonderful," Atte said. "I'm sorry, that was a bit off topic, but, I think it should be acknowledged that we've had two highly succesful experiments. That's more than we thought we'd get!"

"Was this experiment really so dangerous?" 5 asked.

"Not too dangerous," Jeden said. "There was a chance that pieces of our souls would enter the bodies and even a chance our theory would be altogether wrong."

"There was a big chance that all of this would fail," Twee explained.

"But," Shida interjected, "it's a success! So now well get to bring everyone back!"

At that moment, a siren went off. 1 and 5 looked around in fear, but the others were only a little suprised. "Is it nighttime already?" Atte asked.

"I guess we lost track of time," Viisi said.

"Well then," Twee said, "should we work into the night?"

Shida yawned. The yawn was infectious; even making the twin stitchpunks yawn. 7 stretched her arms. "Let's wait until tomorrow."

"Alright then," Jeden said, heading for the door. Twee was the first out the door, which was understandable (his wife had just given birth and he had been kept from his son all day). Atte was next with Shida slung over his shoulder, complaining that he was too tired to walk. Viisi, who was now 100% better, waited for Jeden to leave before waving goodbye and closing the door.

The stitchpunks waved back. After the door closed, 7 waved at 1 and 5 to follow them. They entered the hole in the wall and began walking on a bunch of makeshift stairs. As they walked, the stairs became more even and seemed like they had been built for them.

"I don't remember this part of the house," 1 said.

"That's because it was built after the humans came back," 9 said. "They tore down the factory and used the rubble to build their own houses and to fix ours."

"Um," 5 began, "did they rebuild the cathedral as well?"

"Well, they're working on it," 7 said as she walked through a hole. "They wan't to make some glass to finish off the picture but, for the most part it's fixed."

3 and 4 ran through the hole and onto a makeshift bunk-bed. 4 beat 3 to the top bunk so 3 threw himself onto the lower bunk and curled up with his blanket and a smile on his face. The beds were made of sticks, string and pieces of cloth that had been sown together. Some pieces of cloth had stuffing sown between them to make a kind of matress. There were seven other beds forming a circle, one bigger than the others that was defenitly for 8. There was even an eisel by a bed for 6.

"You guys had all of this prepared for us?" 5 asked as he walked into the room.

7 nodded and got into one of the beds next to 3 and 4's bunk bed. Since the eisel was by the other bed next to the bunk bed and the bigger bed was next to that one, 1 got into the bed by the bigger bed. 9 got into the bed by 7 and 5 got into the bed next to 9. 9 smiled at 5 as he pulled the blanket up to his shoulders.

5 smiled back, closed his eyes and sighed. "It's good to be back." And with that 5 was asleep. 9 glanced over at 1 and saw him fast asleep as well.

9 smiled and turned towards 7. She smiled back to him. "I guess having your soul put into a different body is very tiring," she said.

The two laughed with eachother, even noticing that 3 and 4 had fallen asleep just as fast. 7 and 9 stopped laughing and smiled at eachother.

"Well, we got 1 and 5 back," 7 said.

"Yeah," 9 replied. "All we need are 6, 8 and 2..."

7 reached out her hand and 9 put his hand in hers. "Don't worry," 7 said. "Even if you haven't had a chance to talk to 5 yet, I know that he doesn't blame you for what happened. And 2 will be no different. They'll just be glad to be back again."

"It's not just that," 9 said, looking away from 7's eyes.

7 squeezed his hand. 9 looked back at her and smiled. 7 had always looked after him and pulled him out of his dark times. Whenever he had started thinking too much about the others or how he might not be leading the humans in the right direction, 7 had reminded him that he was making the right choice or that the stitchpunks didn't blame him for anything. But, to 9, that still didn't mean that it wasn't his fault.

"Just get some rest. Tomorrow we'll get the others back and you'll see. You'll see..." 7 began to close her eyes and her hand slipped from 9's.

9 smiled at the female stitchpunk and closed his own eyes. 7 was right; things would finally be cleared up tomorrow. He'd find out what he had to do and he would definitly pay them back for all he'd done.

So, I'm trying to get better about posting once a week, but things might be a bit slow after this. I've got some work I have to get done and it will take up a lot of my free time. I would have been faster with this update, but my brother bought the new GamePro and it featured Assasin's Creed 2 and, if you knew me, you'd know how I feel about Assasin's Creed. We''ll, anyway, I'll try to update before the week is through, but there are no promises. Hope you liked this chapter!


	3. All Together

Okay, so, I'm so happy about all of my reviews! Thanks to you, reviewers! Anyway, even though I said it would come out by the next weekend... a month later... I HAD SO MUCH WORK!!! It killed me a little inside while I was finishing project after project, knowing that I was keeping you guys waiting. I couldn't even watch The Guild I was so busy (and anyone who watches that show knows how short their episodes are)! So, the chapter is finally done. Here you go! Thanks for your patience.

"I want to go first!" Shida demanded.

"No, Shida," Viisi was getting sick of repeating himself. "We drew straws and Atte won. Besides, your after him so I don't know why you're so antsy!"

"It's an exciting thing," 1 defended. "The boy's only eleven and he's going to bring something back to life! That's worth getting 'antsy' about."

Shida smiled. 1 was supposed to be really bossy and mean, but so far he had only been defending Shida. Okay, so he was also trying to run the machine now, telling everyone how to set things up and what-not, but he had been the leader, so it was only natural for him to try and control things. It must drive him nuts that we listen to 9 before him, Shida laughed to himself.

"Come on!" 1 started waving at 3, 4 and 5, who were struggling to put 8's body into the machine. "You're taking too long!"

5 grunted as he pushed 8's body higher up. "You try it. He's heavy!"

1 muttered to himself, waving his hands as if to dismiss 5. 3 and 4 scurried to the wires and connected them to 8. 5 finished hooking 8 into the straps and jumped down with a smile on his face. It had been a long time since he had been able to work with his hands… it felt good…

Atte raised the mask up and centered 8.

"Remember," Jeden interrupted, "8 is bigger than the others. There may be more of a strain on you than the rest of us."

Atte chuckled. "I'm not all that little myself, Jeden."

A smirk appeared on Jeden's face. It was true, Atte towered over him. He had to be at least 6 foot 2. And that was definitely at least.

Atte sat down and put his face into the mask. It was about a minute before he stopped adjusting the mask and signaled Twee to pull the switch. Twee closed his eyes and threw the switch. As the green light began to leave Atte and enter 8, Atte didn't feel anything. He was confused at first; everyone else had reacted immediately with a sense of shock or pain. Yet he felt nothing.

It's time to leave, Atte thought to himself, as if he were talking to 8. You can go back to the others.

There was a strange clinging feeling, like 8 didn't want to go back. No one is mad at you, Atte assured 8. They want you back. Go on.

Finally, the pain hit him. It was literally a splitting headache, his skin felt like it was being ripped apart, then his muscles felt torn and, finally, his bones felt like they were shattering into hundreds of pieces. The green light stopped and Atte couldn't move from the chair he was in so much pain.

"Atte," 7 walked towards the human. "Are you alright?"

"No," he said in a gasp.

Atte couldn't move at first and 8's body wasn't moving at all.

"Did it fail?" Twee asked with concern not only for Atte, but for 8's soul as well.

"I don't think so," Jeden said.

"Wake up!"

Everyone turned to see 1 practically shouting at 8. "There's no time for your foolish actions. A human is hurt because of you!"

"1!" 5 shouted. "We all did the same thing! You can't yell at him for something like that. You don't even know if he's there."

"Of course he's there!" 1 insisted, pointing at 8. "He's being childish and pretending he's not here."

As 1 said this, 8 opened one of his eyes and looked around. When he saw the humans, he opened both eyes and gaped at them.

"8! You're alright!" 9 said with a genuine smile on his face.

8 looked at his fellow stitchpunks and closed his eyes again.

"Nobody's believing it, 8!" 1 said.

8 opened his eyes and sighed. "Sorry."

3 and 4 quickly removed the wires and unhooked 8, who fell from the machine with a thud. He rubbed his butt as he stood up and looked around. However, when his eyes met with the other stitchpunks, he cast his head to the side and wouldn't look at them.

"8, what's wrong?" 5 walked closer to 8 as he asked this question.

"Do," 8 began, "…did you… really want me back? Even after all I did to you guys?"

The stitchpunks smiled at their bigger friend. "Of course we did!" 9 said as he walked towards 8. "We're not complete without you."

8's lip seemed to quiver for a moment before he gave 5 and 9 the bear-hug of the century. 3 and 4 looked on and then threw themselves on 8 to be a part of the hug.

As 9, 7 and 1 started describing the new world to 8, the other stitchpunks began hooking 6's body up to the machine.

As Shida sat down on a thick book that had been placed on the chair to bring him to the right height with the machine, Viisi grasped his shoulder. Shida turned around in confusion, but soon realized the problem.

"I'm fine, Viisi!" Shida insisted as he pulled away from his cousin. "If Atte could bring 8 back, there's no reason for you to be worried!"

"It's not just Viisi," Twee chimed in. "You're… very young. And it might be better if we waited for you to be older."

"And keep them separated just because I'm not as big as you guys? No way! If Atte can handle 8, then I can bring 6 back."

"Shida-"

"Please Viisi! Just trust me."

Viisi wanted to protest more, but couldn't bring himself to do it. He let go of his cousin's shoulder and stepped back. Twee looked at Viisi in shock. The two of them had always been friends and Twee could tell just how worried Viisi was. He could not believe that Viisi was backing down so easily.

Turning back to the mask, Shida finished centering and raised his hand. 3, 4 and 5 jumped down from the machine and ran to the other stitchpunks. Shida finally waved his hand and Jeden pulled the switch.

All of a sudden, Shida's let arm began to hurt, almost as if it were being sawed off. Shida bit his lip and held back a scream. Then his leg felt like it was being chopped off with an axe. Bit by bit, every part of his body felt like it was being cut and ripped from him. He couldn't hold it back anymore; Shida screamed at the top of his lungs. And, right after that scream, the green light stopped. Shida fell out of his chair and into Atte's arms (Atte had moved closer to Shida when he started screaming). Shida curled up in Atte's arms, crying a bit; he may have acted strong, but what Shida had just been through had scared and hurt him so badly…

The other humans and even the stitchpunks ran over to Shida to make sure he was alright. Everyone kept telling Shida it would be alright and that the pain would go away soon. Everyone was so wrapped up in Shida that at first, none of them heard the voice coming from atop the table.

"…shida…"

Shida heard it first, although he couldn't tell what it was saying. "W-wait guys. Do you hear that?" Everyone stopped talking and listened.

"…shida…"

The voice was quiet, very worn out. Everybody knew who it was. The stitchpunks scrambled to the top (well, 1 didn't scramble. He got 8 to carry him up). Sure enough, there was 6, picking at the cuffs on his wrists while muttering something.

6 turned and saw the other stitchpunks and waved at them with a big grin on his face. He reached his arms out to them, but remembered that they were in cuffs and began picking at them with his pen-fingers.

"Careful 6!" 5 climbed up the machine and began fiddling with the cuffs and wires. "You might break those pen tips if you keep picking at the cuffs."

6 smiled at 5, then began looking around. He smiled and waved at the other stitchpunks, not noticing the humans because they were still on the floor with Shida. As he looked around, he saw something he knew very well placed carefully into the machine. "Source!"

3 and 4 nodded, climbing up and tapping the round code to acknowledge that that was what 6 was talking about. 5 finally finished unhooking 6 and, as 6 ran to the code, he saw Shida being lifted up by Atte.

"Shida!" 6 ran to the table edge. He would have fallen off if 7 hadn't grabbed him and pulled him back.

Shida looked to the side and saw 6 stretching out his arms as if offering a hug. Even though he was hurting, Shida nudged Atte's chest. Atte got the message, lowering Shida into the chair. 6 jumped off the table and fell into Shida's lap. He quickly picked himself up, leaving ink streaks on Shida's pants. He stumbled forward and, when he finally reached Shida's chest, let his entire body fall onto Shida. All Shida could do was smile.

The stitchpunks tried explaining the new world to 6 but soon realized that he didn't really care. 6 was right at home, even in this new world. 8 was holding something in his hands while being pushed by 1. 1 kept motioning towards 6 and 8 kept shaking his head. Finally, 1 pushed 8 so hard he almost ran into 6. 8 looked away from 6, drumming his fingers against what he was holding. After a moment, he held out a ring with a key on it.

"It's, uh, like your old necklace..." 8 muttered. 6 looked at the necklace and threw his hands up in surprise. He jumped on 8 with a hug. 8 smiled as he lowered 6 down and handed over the necklace. There was a big smile on 6's face as he slid the key over his head.

While all of this had been going on, 3 and 4 had begun dragging 2's body to the machine. "Wait!" 9 shouted, running to take the body from the twins. "I'll take care of this one."

5 smiled at the youngest stitchpunk. As 9 brought 2's body up to the machine, the two living stitchpunks grinned at one another, both knowing just how important this was. Their best friend, the eldest and kindest of them all was going to come back now.

"Alright, Twee," Jeden said. "There's no one else left. It's your turn."

Twee hesitated, glancing at the other humans. He was still afraid of what would happen; everyone else had had such a bad reaction to the experiments. How was he going to react? What kind of pain would he feel?

"Don't worry," Viisi placed a hand on Twee's shoulder. "I swear to you you'll be okay."

Twee patted Viisi's hand, but wouldn't meet his friend's eyes. Normally, Twee was the one giving Viisi advice, not the other way around. Twee was older and had more knowledge than Viisi, but it was no secret that Viisi was the braver of the two.

With a giant sigh, Twee took Viisi's hand off his shoulder and walked towards the chair. Even with the support of all his human friends and the stitchpunks, He couldn't help but be afraid of what was to come.

He sat down in the chair, lifted up the mask and raised his hand to ready the signal. Although he had 2 centered for quite awhile, Twee waited, shaking a little at the fear of losing a piece of his own soul. Finally, he gained the courage to wave his hand. Atte pulled the switch.

Twee started feeling heavy, like there was a large weight pushing on his body. It wasn't as bad as he had thought it would be. Then he couldn't breath. His lungs seemed to be filling up with water. His breathing became labored and sounded like he was gargling water. Twee fell from the chair. The green light stopped coming from the mask.

Everyone ran around Twee, Atte lifting him up so he could breath more easily. The stitchpunks were at the table edge and it was clear each one was worried about Twee. No one had had such a strong reaction to the procedure...

Finally, Twee coughed and opened his eyes. Everyone gave a sigh of relief. Viisi helped Twee stand up.

"Are you alright?" 9 asked.

Twee didn't answer, he was too busy looking at the machine. The stitchpunks and the Numbered followed his gaze to find 2 lifting his head.

"2!" 5 exclaimed before running to his old friend. 9 could not move. There was his friend, the one he had killed, was now alive and right in front of him. How should he react?

"Is he okay?" Jeden moved towards the machine, directing his question at 5. "The process..."

"2?" 5 asked as he lowered his friend to the table.

2 squinted and began looking around the room. He started walking towards the Numbered, a puzzled look on his face. After a minute, he turned back to 5 with a smile. "...Do you know where my glasses are?"

6 had already picked up the head-piece and moved to 2's side. 2 patted 6 on the head and put the head-piece on. The stitchpunk looked at the humans as if they had always been around. He stopped at Twee and waved. "Hello."

Twee stared at his counterpart, confused at how he was moving. He could have sworn he fell out of the chair before the process was finished. Maybe he had been wrong.

"Are you… okay?" Shida asked the smiling stitchpunk.

2 looked at the youngest Numbered and nodded. "This is quite a sight," he said while looking at the humans around him. "I thought that humans would eventually return, but I didn't think it would be this soon."

He turned back to his fellow stitchpunks and walked towards 9. 9 stood in fright, wondering what the old stitchpunk would say.

2 reached out and patted 9 on the shoulder. "I knew you could do it."

9 couldn't believe what 2 was saying. He wasn't going to get yelled at? Get a disappointed shake of the head? NOTHING?! How was this possible?

7 began describing the new world to 2 and moving him towards the window as 9 thought over what had happened. 9 couldn't understand it.

"Wait a minute!" 9 shouted. Everyone turned to 9, all of them confused except for 2. "Aren't you mad at me? I mean… it was my fault you were trapped in the first place. All of this was my fault! And you had put all of your trust in me! ...Aren't you upset?"

2 sighed and walked closer to 9. With a gentle smile, 2 said, "How could I be upset with you? Even if you say this was your fault, haven't you fixed it all? Not only that, but you did exactly what the professor wanted: you brought the humans back and destroyed The Machine. 9, in all honesty, I have never been so proud of anyone as I am of you."

The old stitchpunk brought 9 into a hug. At first, 9 didn't respond, but after a moment or two, a smile grew on his face and he hugged his old friend back.

The siren went off, signaling that it was time to stop working and go to bed.

"Well," Jeden said with a grin, "we've finally done it. All nine stitchpunks are alive again. Perhaps tomorrow, we'll show all of you our new world in more detail."

Everyone nodded at the idea. 9 and 7 had done a good job of describing the world, but the others had to admit, they wanted to look around more.

Shida ran down the stairs (very quickly for someone who had just had a piece of their soul removed) to see what his counterpart thought of the easel he had built for him. 6 ran straight for it when the stitchpunks arrived to their bedroom. He reached his fingers out to draw on it, but got a puzzled look on his face. All his life he had drawn "the source" but there was no need to draw it now. Then again, he had no idea what to draw. Suddenly, a thought came to him. He began drawing line after line, forming odd shapes on the paper. Shida smiled, glad that he had made the easel after all.

1 glanced at 2, wondering if now was the right time to talk to him. With a sigh, he decided that it would have to wait until tomorrow. He directed 8 to the larger bed, where 8 happily laid down, still trying to get used to his new body. 3 and 4 ran over to 6, their eyes flashing as they recorded his drawing. It was of the factory, the way it used to look, but it was an extreme close up of the ground outside a whole in wall. The drawing was interesting but the second 6 was finished with it, he ripped it off the easel and began another drawing.

5 and 9 helped 2, who was still weak from the soul transfer, to his bed. 2 smiled at them as he removed his head piece and laid down for bed. After saying goodnight, he fell asleep instantly.

5 patted 9 on the shoulder. "What 2 said was true. Oh, and 7 told me. I don't blame you for my death. I never did or will."

9 watched as 5 crawled into bed and 8 convinced 6 to go to bed. 3 and 4 crawled into the bunk bed and waved bye as the Numbered left for their homes. 9 still couldn't believe that they were all together again and that no one blamed him for what had happened; if anything they seemed to credit him with bringing everyone back.

7 smiled at 9 as he walked over to his bed. 9 smiled back. It didn't matter anymore; everyone was back and everyone was happy. That was all 9 could ask for. He closed his eyes and dreamt of tomorrow, when they would explore the new world together, finally a complete family. None of them knew what the net day would bring, but all of them were sure it would be wonderful.

So, I'm really sorry that this chapter took so long. And if you think the story is over, boy, you could not be more wrong. Lies, shocks and the most epic quest of all times has just begun for not only the stitchpunks, but the Numbered as well. What is that quest and who will be most greatly effected? Find out soon! Either next chapter or the chapter after that! Please stick around. It will be a lot sooner than the last one. Trust me. Also, everyone who reviewed... you're all THE GREATEST THING SINCE SLICED BREAD!!!


	4. Happily Ever After?

Yay! No one yelled at me for being gone so long! Okay, so, I have to get this out in the open before hand… some of the stitchpunks MIGHT DIE AGAIN! I use the term die loosely because they were able to be brought back BUT STILL!! If you feel you can't deal with the loss of stitchpunks again, you may not want to read further. If they do die, they might be brought back again. The whole point is, there will be an epic quest and some people/stitchpunks are going to get hurt in the process. I encourage you to keep reading, but if you can't, I understand. With that, on to the next chapter!

4 stretched his arms as he woke up, still a little sleepy. He had been so excited about the day to come that he hadn't slept very well. His twin brother, however, had slept fine and was now climbing up the bunk bed to shake him awake.

3 and 4 got in a little brotherly fight as 4 pushed 3 away from him so that his brother might take a hint and leave him alone.

The other stitchpunks had woken up a while ago and were getting ready for the big day. 5 and 2 had fashioned a backpack of sorts and were filling it with things that the younger stitchpunks might like playing with. Out of habit, 5 packed a needle that could be used as a short sword and two thumbtacks for daggers. Even though 7 had insisted that there was nothing to worry about, 5 couldn't help but notice that she had her bird-skull helmet on at all times. It was a little unnerving, but 7 swore that she only wore it nowadays because it was habit.

Back at the beds, 6 was busy drawing on his easel with 8 watching over his shoulder. This drawing was of the factory again, only it was of how the factory had been from the inside. 8 could still remember being caught by that snake machine and being taken into the factory, but any memories he might have had of being in The Source or of rebuilding the world were gone. There were, he had to admit, bits and pieces of a life before his, most likely Atte's memories that he must have seen while his soul was in Atte's. It was a strange feeling to have someone else's memories, but 1 had confided in him that he was going through something similar and that it was just a side-effect from The Process (they didn't really know what to call it other than The Process).

6 took the finished drawing off of the easel and began working on another one. "There's no time for that!" 1 shouted from the doorway. "The humans are coming now. I cans see them. Just bring that with you."

6 tried to carry the easel, but was upset to discover that his fingers stained the easel and his drawing every time he touched it. Suddenly, the easel was lifted into the air. 6 turned to see 8 swing it over his shoulder and nod towards the door. The littler stitchpunk smiled at the bigger one and started walking. 3 and 4 rushed past the two and up to 7's side.

Shida was the first to enter. "Hey, 6!" Shida squatted down and held out his hand. "High five!" 6 looked at the hand, smiled and slapped it. Some ink splattered onto Shida, but the young Numbered didn't seem to mind.

Twee came in next. He was holding a little baby and there was a lady next to him.

"Twee! You brought your family!" 9 exclaimed. He, 7, 3 and 4 had learned a lot about Twee's family while setting up the experiment and had wanted to meet them for a while now.

The woman bent down next to Shida and waved. "Hi. I'm Alba. It's nice to finally meet you."

When the humans had first come around, everyone met the stitchpunks and talked to them at least once a week. But, as time went on, the humans began to revere the stitchpunks as leaders and holders of all society. When people had come back to life, they didn't really remember anything from the past; all they had to go off of where the recorded facts of 3 and 4 and the books in the library. Nowadays, it was unusual to see the stitchpunks as friends rather than leaders.

"Hi," 9 waved back. The other stitchpunks followed suit. 3 ran towards Twee and jumped up and down. Twee got the message and lifted him up to get a better look at his son. 3 began cataloging. The bright lights made the sleeping baby stir. In shock, 3 stopped and looked at Twee to see if he had done something wrong. Twee just smiled. The little stitchpunk took this as a sign that he had done nothing wrong, but should stop anyway.

"Well," Jeden began, "let's head out."

3 climbed down to his twin and the two ran out of the house and through the streets; both of them already knew where to go.

8 saw the twins cataloging various things in the streets, some of which were people, who just shrugged it off, smiling as the stitchpunks cataloged and then ran off. "Why are they cataloging?"

"To learn things," 7 replied.

"I know that! I mean, why are they cataloging? I mean, I thought they would have cataloged everything."

"Nope," 9 said. "Everyday, for the past three generations, they have always found something new to catalog."

5 looked at 9 in shock. "Three generations? You mean, humans have been around for that long?"

"I'm not surprised you're shocked," Atte interrupted. "Three generations have passed since we were brought back. We've been around for a while now."

"There doesn't seem to have been a lot of progress," 5 couldn't help but point out. All of the houses they passed were nice, but there was no sign of machines. 5 couldn't even see any light bulbs in the houses, only lanterns and candles.

"But can you blame us?" Viisi asked. "When we tried to advance ourselves in the past, The Machine was created. People don't want a repeat of that. And I know that's sounds like a silly reason, but it's a real fear for all of us."

1 grunted to show he had an opinion on the matter. "I think you humans have made the right choice. Humans have survived in the past with little to no technology; there's no reason you lot can't do the same."

"If you don't mind me asking," 2 interjected, "with such a lack of technology, how were our new bodies built?"

"Interesting question!" Talking about mechanics was a big hobby of Twee's. "When we brought up bringing the rest of you back to life, which was a big problem: could we do it without using technology that had betrayed us in the past? The answer, of course, was no. That shook a lot of people up; it had been decided when the first humans came back that we would never use this technology ever again. However, when we pointed out that we had to use technology from the past to perform check-ups on the already existing stitchpunks, and if we were going to use the technology solely for bring you all back, then it would be alright. So, everyone agreed to use the banned technology just this once. 3 and 4 had saved all of your blueprints so it was almost no trouble putting you back together."

"And you had no trouble finding parts for us?" 2 asked.

Twee shrugged. "There were plenty of dead machines that The Machine had created. We just found preserved pieces in their bodies and used that to make you."

People stared at the stitchpunks as they walked by. They were very curious about the new stitchpunks, but too shy to ask them about anything. A little girl, out of curiosity, waved at 1. 1 looked at her in confusion (being polite was not his forte). He turned back to the little girl and gave a small wave. She smiled at him. 6 saw what was going on and got an idea. The little stitchpunk ran behind 1, grabbed his arm and made 1 give a big wave to the little girl. The child laughed as 1 looked at 6 and tried pushing him away. Everyone smiled, deciding that they had made the right choice in bringing the others back.

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It was about a ten minute walk to the open field around the factory. There were scraps of machines here and there, but not many (at most, it seemed like there were seven dead machines in the field). The rest of the field was green and full of flowers. Some little saplings had even begun growing between the field and the factory. It was one of the prettiest sights the stitchpunks had ever seen.

As Alba spread a blanket out, 3, 4 and 6 began running around the field, playing what looked like a mix between tag and hide-and-seek. 7 started for the saplings, eager to jump from branch to branch just because she could. As 8 set up 6's easel in case he wanted to draw, 1 walked up to 2 who was watching 3 and 4 climb up a flower and begin cataloging (they had completely forgotten that 6 was trying to catch them).

"Ahem," 1 said in a soft manner, as if he wasn't really trying to get 2's attention. 2 turned around and smiled at him. "I…uh…" 1 couldn't think of a sentence to explain what he was feeling.

Finally, 1 took a deep breath and looked 2 straight in the eye. "I am… very… upset with myself for… em," He couldn't look at 2 anymore. 1 looked to the sky as he continued. "What I did in the past… it… it's unforgivable. I should never have sent you out there and… I feel… I'm-"

2 cut him off. "I know. And I hold no ill will. You've changed, everyone can see that." 2 then did something that no stitchpunk had never even thought of doing: he hugged 1. Pulling back, he continued. "You and 9 both seem to think I'm some kind of grudge-bearer. Do I really seem like that to all of you?"

1 shook his head and looked towards 9. The youngest stitchpunk had taken on the leader role, and for a long time. Perhaps he should step down and let 9 be the leader.

"2!" 9 shouted from a sapling. "We need your help!"

The old stitchpunk walked over to 9 and 5, both of whom were looking at a red dot in the sapling branches.

"2, this thing is called a fruit," 5 pointed at the red dot. "9 says that people eat it, but we can't figure out how to get it down from the tree."

"Normally," 9 interrupted, "when we get fruit, we climb the tree. But this tree is too smooth for us to climb. 5 and I have been thinking, but we can't find any way to get it."

2 looked at the tree and thought for a minute. "Well, the fruit is very high up, so it would probably be easier to go to it rather than bring the fruit to you." While looking around, he spied their backpack at the picnic blanket. "Wait here."

In almost no time, 2 had come back with the two tacks in each hand. "Would this work?" He stabbed one of the tacks into the tree and moved the other one higher. With careful foot placement, 2 began moving up the tree. He didn't go very far since his feet weren't very secure but the three stitchpunks were very happy with their discovery.

Back at the blanket, Twee and Alba were laying down on the blanket, watching Atte and Viisi looking for Shida, who had hidden himself somewhere in the field and simply could not be found. Eventually even Jeden joined the search. As the three of them moved forward, Shida jumped out of nowhere and scared Viisi so badly that the poor engineer fell to the ground in shock.

9 headed towards the blanket, laughing along with Twee and Alba. 5 and 2 had gone into intense collaboration on new inventions and, even though 9 had some interesting ideas for inventions, he felt that the two needed some time by themselves. They had been the best of friends after all, and both had no idea about the new world they were in. 9 knew they wanted to discover the changes, not be told about them.

As 9 sat down, 3 and 4 fell across his lap, tired from cataloging for twenty minutes straight. The two flickered their eyes at each other, sharing the information they had gotten, but fell asleep before a minute had passed.

There was a snicker to 9's left. He looked up to see 7 walking towards him with a smile on her face. 9 looked at the twins and smiled. Their mouths were hanging wide open; if they had been humans they probably would have been drooling, too. The two had always slept like that and it had never failed to amuse their fellow stitchpunks.

7 sat next to 9 and started picking blades of grass. 9 looked at her, puzzled at why she was doing that. After she had gotten a few blades, the female stitchpunk pulled 4's hood back and began sticking the blades into it. Six grass blades later, 4 had a lovely bunch of shaggy green hair sticking this way and that. 9 laughed and began picking grass blades himself. With his grass, he made a mustache and a bushy beard for 3.

The two laughed for a bit, then looked out over the field. 2 and 5 had moved from the tree and were now looking at a cluster of flowers that ranged from orange to pink to dark purple. 8 had found a dragonfly and somehow caught it, showing his spoils to 1 (1 was shocked by the thing but interested none-the-less).

At first, neither stitchpunk could find 6. It wasn't until 9 glanced behind him that he saw their ink-stained friend drawing on his easel. Out of curiosity, 9 slid the twins off of his lap and went to see what 6 was drawing. 4 and 3 woke up despite 9's care and when they saw each other, both seemed to break out laughing (seemed being the right word because they couldn't make any noise). As 7 laughed along with them, 9 got a look at what 6 was drawing and was nearly taken aback in shock. 6 wasn't drawing the scenery, as 9 had first thought; he was actually drawing a hole in a wall, some bars covering parts of the whole and water flowing through it. 9 and almost every other stitchpunk could have recognized it right away; it was the spot where they had sent 2's body down the river.

Again acting in shock, 9 ripped the drawing off the easel. 6 looked at him, not sure why his friend was acting so strange.

"Please, 6," 9 said as he folded the drawing, "draw something else. Look around you."

6 looked at the field and seemed to be struck with inspiration. 9 smiled, hid the drawing in his body (AN: you know how he zippers up and sometimes puts things in his body? Like that) and let the stitchpunk draw. However, if he had stayed and watched, 9 would have seen 6 drawing an equally morbid scene: the cliff that 6's body had fallen down.

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The sun was setting by the time the stitchpunks and Numbered had arrived back at the house, and what should have been a day of fun had turned into a day of worry. At least, for 9 it had turned that way.

As they had been packing up to head home, 6 had run to him and shown him his drawings, which consisted of the cliff, two scenes outside the factory, one inside the factory itself and, once again, the hole in the wall. 9 couldn't believe it; each scene 6 had drawn was a place where a stitchpunk had died except for the hole. Why was 6 drawing these? 9 had convinced the artistic stitchpunk to give him the drawings and to not tell the others about what he was drawing. He didn't know what he was going to do but he knew he had to talk to someone about it. Jeden might know what was going on, maybe 2 could be of help.

6 quickly ran to his bed and lay down with a smile on his face. He doesn't seem worried about what's happening, 9 thought.

"I'll drop our stuff off in the attic," Jeden said as he walked up the stairs.

"Are we doing this again tomorrow?" the excitement in 5's voice was obvious.

"That's what we were planning," Viisi smiled as Shida jumped up and down with excitement.

I'll talk to Jeden and 2 then, 9 thought. No need to ruin what's been such a wonderful day.

Jeden put their backpacks and the blanket on the floor of the attic as he heard everyone downstairs laughing. Jeden smiled to himself. Everything was perfect; the stitchpunk were all present, the other Numbered were beyond happy, even he himself -

"hhhmmMMMMmmmm..."

Jeden's head shot up and turned towards the table.

"hhhmmMMMMmmmm..."

The Source was making that noise! The small machine was humming and glowing a faint green. Jeden couldn't help it; he was curious. He knew that Twee would probably be able to explain what was going on, but, for some reason, he couldn't wait.

"hhhmmMMMMmmmm..."

Jeden reached out and touched the Source.

"CHHHHHNNNNNNNN!"

Suddenly, The Source opened up and shot a green light out towards Jeden. He immediately recognized the pain, it was exactly like the pain he had felt when 1 was taken from him. Only this pain was ten times worse. Instead of just his heart, his entire body was being ripped to shreds. Then he felt his entire body enter a furnace and burned to ashes. Then, all of a sudden, he saw his body fall to the floor. He looked at his hands and saw that they were green, in fact, his whole body was green. It was then that he realized what had happened... he had been sucked into The Source.

Something was there with him. T-t-the Ma... Mach... Jeden thought in fear. Jeden lowly looked behind him. The second he made eye-contact with that terrifying creation, he felt The Machine suddenly disappear. Jeden knew that The Machine was no longer trapped inside the Source. And he knew what that meant for all of humanity: Annihilation Part Two.

DU-DU-DA!!! So, yeah, the story has now taken quite the dark twist. And so many unanswered questions: why is Jeden trapped, can the others do anything to stop the Machine and, of course, where has the Machine gone?! So many questions, but, I think all of them will be answered in the next chapter. Please stick around and HEED THE WARNING IN THE BEGINNING!!!! By-the-by, I don't own 9.


	5. The Plot Thickens

Okay, some of you guys don't want the stitchpunks to die. And I get that! It's hard enough for me to think about killing them off, but I want people to know that it might happen and that I can bring them back! I've already done it five times!!! I only said they might be killed so that if they do, I don't get any flames. Now, are you ready for some questions to be answered? I don't own 9 but I'm gonna explain this fanfiction plot!

* * *

"Twee!" Alba shouted dropping to her knees. Not only her husband, but all of the Numbered had fallen to the ground. And they were not the only ones.

"2? 5?! Guys?!" 9 looked around him; only he, 7, 3 and 4 were standing; their brethren laying around them.

3 and 4 tugged at 8, hoping the bruiser would wake up. 7 looked from stitchpunks to Numbered and realized something.

"Where's Jeden?" 7 asked quickly turning to 9. 9 looked back to the Numbered and realized that they were one short.

"He went upstairs," Alba said, still sobbing while holding her son close to her chest.

The standing stitchpunks ran to the hole in the wall. Before they could enter, they heard Alba exclaim, "Twee! Oh thank God!"

They turned and saw everyone begin to push themselves up. 1 scratched his head in confusion.

"What the hell..." Atte asked no one in particular.

"Come on!" 9 said. "We have to make sure Jeden is okay, too."

9, 7, 4 and 3 ran up the wall while the others stood up and walked after them. 9 was the first to arrive at the table. He couldn't see Jeden at first. When he finally got to the table edge, he saw Jeden's body on the floor. Fear struck him. Quickly, he slid down the table leg and over to Jeden. 9 had seen this before, he had seen this when he saw the Professor in the attic the night they had defeated the machine.

9 ran up to Jeden's body, but stopped a foot away. He already knew. The Numbered rushed up the stairs as the stitchpunk looked down from the table. 7 covered the twins' eyes. Alba began walking up the stairs but was quickly turned away by Viisi.

Shida ran up to Jeden, Twee close behind. The older of the two reached out to feel for a pulse even though everyone knew Jeden was dead. Twee shook his head.

"Wh-why is he…" Shida began, on the brink of tears. "I mean, it didn't happen to any of us. Why Jeden?"

Viisi hugged Shida while Atte dropped to Jeden's side, the shock fully setting in.9 hung his head in shame. He felt like he should have been able to do something about it.

"6, what are you doing?!"

Everyone looked at 7. She was being dragged by 6 towards The Source. 3 and 4 grabbed onto 7 and began pulling her away from 6. The three stitchpunks were at a standstill in strength, treating 7 as if she were nothing but a ragdoll.

9 climbed up the table leg. When he got to the top, 8 had already picked 6 up by the shoulders and was holding him as the smaller stitchpunk trashed around in 8's arms.

"6, what's going on?" 2 asked.

"The Source!" 6 shouted, now trying to push himself away from 8's massive body.

9 looked at The Source and back to 6. Maybe it has something to do with the pictures. 9 picked up The Source and brought it to 6. "What does this have to do with Jeden?"

6 screamed as 9 brought it closer to him. The artistic stitchpunk was so scared that he succeeded in breaking free from 8. 6 started pulling on 8's arm, trying to get him farther away from 9.

8 chuckled. "There's nothing to be afraid of, 6. Look." Despite 6's protests, 8 reached out for The Source.

Out of nowhere, 2 grabbed 8's hand and kept him from touching the machine. With an uncharacteristic glare, 2 said, "If 6 says not to touch it, you should listen." Softening his glare, 2 added, "He's been right about these things before."

The big stitchpunk quickly pulled his hand away. Everyone looked at 9 and The Source.

"Why can 9 touch it?" 5 asked, stretching out his hand. 6 grabbed the hand and pulled it away.

6 looked around until he found 7. Grabbing her arm again, he pulled the female stitchpunk to 9 and placed her hand on The Source, carefully keeping his own hand away from the machine.

9 and 7 looked at each other in surprise. Noticing too late, 3 slid his hand onto the machine as well. Following his twin, 4 touched The Source as well.

When the four had their hands on The Source, 6 nodded at 2, as if conveying a message.

"What about the rest of us?" 1 asked, a little upset that 6 had not asked him to touch it.

"I think only those four can touch The Source," 2 said, getting a violent nod from 6 as confirmation.

"What the HELL does any of this have to do with Jeden?!" Twee screamed. The stitchpunks jumped in shock and faced The Numbered. Shida and Viisi had broken down to tears, Atte was still sitting there in shock and it was clear that Twee had been crying as well. All of the stitchpunks felt horrible; the problem with The Source had distracted them completely from Jeden.

6, quickly snapping out of the sadness, ran to the window and pointed outside, as if the answer were just outside. The stitchpunk looked at each other in confusion, but 9 quickly stepped forward. 6 waved at 9 to hurry up and, when 9 was close enough, pointed to the factory. His mouth fell open when he saw what had been the factory.

Something was rising from the trees: smoke. Either something had spontaneously burst into flames or something was making a fire.

"Who would go there? That's where the factory was, right?" 7 asked. 9 jumped a bit when he saw all of the stitchpunks gathering around him to get a better look at what was happening.

The mention of the factory seemed to snap Atte out of his stupor. The tallest Numbered walked towards the window. His eyes grew wide in shock. "3, 4, do you guys know of anything over by the factory that could start a fire?"

The twins looked at Atte, and then began flashing their eyes at one another. Nodding at something, the two projected an image of a gasoline tank.

Atte shook his head. "There would have been an explosion. Besides, most of the tanks were removed when we tore down the factory and the rest are covered by plants. There would be a lot more smoke if one of those had been lit."

3 and 4 flashed a bit more, but couldn't seem to find anything. Suddenly, 4 nudged 3's shoulder and flashed something. Quickly nodding in agreement, 3 projected the next image on the wall: the torch The Machine had used.

1 guffawed. "Absolute nonsense! How could a piece of the machine still be out there? If the rubble was taken to build houses, surely all of the machinery was at least taken away."

"No," 9 said. Everyone faced him. "We couldn't find certain pieces. We had found the Machine's brain and some of its body, but we couldn't find all of it. The torch was one of those things."

1 thought a bit before stuttering, "B-but, there's no way! How could the torch suddenly start working? Something…"

"Something would have to start it," 2 finished.

Everyone stood still, there eyes on the table. There had to be some other explanation. No one had every figured out how to operate the remains of The Machine, even Twee was stumped by those complex controls. The only thing that could ever work The Machine was The Professor or The Machine itself.

9 saw a hand reach for his zipper. He turned to see 6 pull the zipper down and quickly grab his drawings. Before 9 could get them back, 6 had brought them to 2, who was studying them carefully.

2 looked at the drawings, paused, then rushed through them again.

"You don't know what they're of because-" 9 began.

"I know what these are," 2 interrupted in a hoarse voice. Everyone crowded around the drawings. They looked at 9 in shock.

1 grabbed one of the drawings and started waving them in 9's face. "You kept these from us?! You knew what these were and you kept them a secret?!"

"I meant to tell you!" 9 quickly defended. "I didn't want to bring them up out in the field. I meant to talk to Jeden about them!"

"And now he's dead!" 1 retorted.

"No!" 6 suddenly shouted.

Even The Numbered looked up when 6 said that Jeden wasn't dead.

"But, he has no pulse," Viisi began.

5 looked from The Source to Jeden's body, back and forth. With sudden realization, he ran to the window edge then turned to face the others. "What about Jeden's soul? Is that what you mean?"

6 nodded vigorously with a smile on his face.

"So maybe," 5 continued, turning towards the smoke, "Jeden's soul was sent somewhere else. And now, in a new body, he's signaling for us to come find him!"

"But how likely is that?" Twee brought everyone back down to Earth. "I mean, Jeden what? He touches The Source and it sends his soul to a different, random body and he quickly comprehends that and begins signaling us?"

"It does sound crazy," Atte agreed, "but so has everything else we've done. I mean, here stand four human beings who have split their souls to bring back the pieces of a professor's soul that he placed in 9 little mechanical dolls. A while ago, that would have been unthinkable. Now it's a simple fact."

9 turned to the stitchpunks. "I think we have to try to get to Jeden. If it is him signaling us, he must need our help or want us to see something over there."

"Do you think he found the torch?" Shida asked.

"He wouldn't need the torch to start a fire," 7 answered. "Humans have been able to make fire without machines for a long time."

"Then it's settled!" 9 said with a smile. "We'll all go look for Jeden."

"I don't think that's such a good idea." Everyone turned when 2 said this. "I'm too old for such a long trip. I have to stay here."

"2 has a point," Viisi said. "And we have to think of the people. They would freak-out if all of The Numbered left them. We're still looked up to after all."

"Then maybe all of you should stay here," 8 shrugged at his own suggestion. "We've traveled through a war-torn wasteland. I think we can handle an open field."

Shida interrupted, "But should all of you go? You guys are basically the leaders here. Won't people freak out if most of you leave?"

"Ahm," 1 cleared his throat. "I will stay as well. I'm not particularly good at fighting, but I would like second chance to prove myself as a leader." He turned to the stitchpunks. "If you'll let me."

"Of course," Everyone answered.

"And," 2 added, "perhaps 3 and 4 should stay as well. We may need someone who can touch The Source and, of the four of you, 9 and 7 are the most suited for traveling."

3 and 4 looked at 9 and 7 and got a nod of approval. The twins then scurried over to 2 and hugged the older stitchpunk affectionately.

"Then it's settled," 9 declared. "The five of us will go to Jeden and the rest of you will stay behind to look after the villagers."

5 and 8 weren't too pleased with this plan but, after talking with 1 and 2 about it, gave in. The five stitchpunks began packing for the journey. 3 and 4 shove paper into a bag for 6 while said stitchpunk hugged Shida goodbye. 8 was breaking off the large handle of a kitchen knife which he had insisted on taking with him. 1 was helping the larger stitchpunk by looking for a couple of nails to wire onto the knife as a new handle. 7, thinking similarly, was packing an exacto-blade and a pointed staff (even though they could easily avoid any dangerous animals, the female stitchpunk liked being prepared rather than caught off guard).

9 had almost finished packing when 5 brought something to him. His arms were full of thumbtacks and pieces of rubber bands. "2 thought we might need them for climbing. Just in case."

9 smiled at 5, then turned to wave at 2 in thanks. He had already decided that he could not say goodbye to his friends; the thought of leaving them again was still too much for him. 3 and 4 had a different mindset and had quickly moved from helping to pack to hugging 7 to death. The girl patted them on their heads and returned the hug.

Soon, everyone had gathered to see the stitchpunks off. The Numbered (excluding Shida) had told the villagers the situation while the stitchpunks had packed, but it was still a sad sight for all.

3 and 4 had gotten 6 into a big hug and wouldn't let go. 1 preferred simply shaking hands and wishing good luck to 8. 5 and 9 hugged 2 goodbye, the oldest of them giving two reassuring pats on their shoulders. 7 came and got a hug from 2 only to be hugged around the waist by 3 and 4, who were obviously not done with their hugs. The twins, after getting a smile from 7, ran to 9 and hugged him as well.

"Don't worry," 9 said when he saw the sad look in their eyes. "1 and 2 will take good care of you. And we'll be back before you know it."

Shida, who had been hugging 6 goodbye, finally put the stitchpunk down.

"Well," 9 said, "we're off."

"Are you sure you'll be able to find your way there?" Viisi asked. "The smoke might not last much longer."

"We'll be alright," 7 answered. "5 marked the spot on our map, so we know which way to go."

And with that, the stitchpunks left. Everyone waved goodbye as the stitchpunks left the village and headed for the smoke, which was now starting to disappear. The Numbered knew that they would be okay, but they couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right.

* * *

Off in the forest, a mechanical arm began to move. The arm began crawling around, almost as if it were looking for something. At the base of a tree, it suddenly began to dig. After clawing its way through about two feet of dirt, the arm found something it was looking for: a torch. The arm balanced on its elbow and threw the torch out of the hole. The arm repeated this process until it had found scores of mechanical parts that the humans had not been able to find. Suddenly, it began building something. The torch and the materials used let off a lot of smoke due to old age and rust, but soon the arm had built a body, eerily similar to that of The Machine's. The arm began burning a piece of the metal until it was so hot that it was melting a little. Quickly, the arm turned off the torch and pushed its shoulder joint into the hot metal. With a green glow, the machine began to move. It was back; The Machine had risen again. And it felt more power than ever before.

Focusing on that power, The Machine crawled around, digging up more mechanical pieces and melding them together with the torch. More smoke rose from the forest. In a flash, The Machine had finished his new creation. It was a wolf-like creature without the ears, tail, muzzle and fur. It had jagged metal strips for teach and its eyes were red from the lights. But it wasn't alive yet. The Machine had saved that for last.

With the special power it had felt before, The Machine focused on its new creation and then on The Source. There was a soul being stored in The Source, the soul of a doctor, a human. He would be perfect.

* * *

Jeden had learned a lot while he was stuck in The Source. The Source seemed to have all the answers, telling him about the stitchpunks creation, The Machine's capture, everything he could want to know. Not only that, but he had also learned why The Source had taken his soul and was excited for the others to figure it out. He had heard them solve half of the puzzle, but they had not figured out the rest. Instead, they had gotten distracted by some smoke in the forest and, unfortunately, that was where Jeden had lost contact with them. But he had faith in them; they were sure to figure it out soon.

And then, out of nowhere, Jeden was no longer in The Source. He turned to see what was going on and found himself actually turning. He looked down at his body and nearly passed out in shock; he now had a robotic skeleton. He lifted his hand only to find out that it was now like the claw of a bird. He looked over the rest of his body and found that he was slumped over like a wolf or a dog.

Behind him, he heard electricity crackling over metal. The doctor turned and came face-to-face with the second version of The Machine. Jeden tried to flee in fear put found himself helpless to the will of The Machine.

The Machine could feel the other pieces of The Professor's soul coming towards him. With that, it sent out its new servant to make sure they were greeted properly…

* * *

A little dark, I will admit, but don't worry! Next chapter promises a fight, a realization (maybe two) and a new enemy that might make The Machine pale in comparison. Can you dig it?! (Sorry, I watched The Warriors recently) So with that, I leave you until next time. By-the-by, next chapter might be a little slow seeing as my workload has increased and Assassin's Creed 2 is coming out soon but I promise it won't take a month like that one chapter did. Please review so I know what a horrible person I am for leaving a cliffhanger. But! for every person who leaves a review about the cliffhanger, it must be coupled with a compliment about this chapter or the story in general. Thank you.


	6. Betrayal and a Wolf

So I said I would update in at least a month and three months later, here we are. I'm sorry it took so long. Work, theatre jobs and video games got in the way of any fanfiction-ing and, well, now it all seems to have evaporated away and given me time for writing! I would promise to update soon, but whenever I do that, it never happens. So, I'm not going to promise anything, but please don't give up on me yet. Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

8 had slung 6 over his shoulder. It had been a long journey, but the stitchpunks rarely rested and the artist would either wander off or stop walking altogether when he got tired. 9 had said they shouldn't stop until they reached the edge of the forest and they were holding to that plan.

As the sun began to set, the forest was only a few yards away. 6 woke up with a start as if he'd sensed how close they'd gotten to the forest and wiggled his way out of 8's grasp. He ran to the forest with a smile on his face and his energy gave the others enough strength to run along with him to the forest's edge. When they reached their destination, all but 8 and 6 fell flat on their backs, finally resting.

"3 and 4 never would have made it," 7 said and the three laughed.

"I can see 1's complaints clear as day," 5 responded and they laughed even harder.

9 heard leaves moving behind them. He got up and turned to find 8 and 6 continuing through the woods. "8! 6! Where are you guys going?"

8 turned back and shouted, "We want to explore a bit!" The bigger stitchpunk turned and went to catch up with his friend.

The two boys turned to their female companion with an expecting look on their faces.

7 rolled her eyes. "I'll go get them." With that, she pulled her helmet over her face and ran after the two.

"They have a point," 5 said as 9 began unpacking pieces of cloth to be used as blankets. "Maybe we should scout ahead a bit to find the easiest path for morning."

9 nodded but said, "They can do it if they want but that was a really long trip and I think we should rest rather than run around the forest."

5 agreed but kept looking after them. Suddenly, the young inventor said, "Oh, I know!" took his bag off and began rummaging through. He finally pulled out two tacks and two thumbtacks with rubber bands on them.

"We could climb one of the trees and try and find an easy path from a birds-eye view!" 5 exclaimed.

9 smiled at the idea and agreed with 5. 5 put the thumbtacks on his feet and walked up to a sapling that he could almost wrap his arms around. The stitchpunk started stabbing the tack into the tree and shimmied up to the top before 9 had finished unpacking. He would really have to complement 2 on such a useful invention.

Soon 5 was high enough that he could see 7 catching up to 6 and 8. He laughed as 6 dove behind a rock as if trying to start a game of hide-and-seek. 5 remembered why he had climbed the tree in the first place and began looking for the easiest path to take. After looking around, 5 had found a narrow path that was, for the most part, flat. He was about to climb down when he heard leaves rustling next to him. Quickly turning, all the stitchpunk could see was a tree very close to the sapling with low branches. As he turned away, there was another sound, the sound of mechanical parts moving. 5 froze; he had to be wrong.

5 turned back to the tree. The leaves were too thick to see through, but he heard the sound again. And then a growl came from the tree. It didn't matter whether or not it was a machine, the point was there was something in that tree that wanted to attack 5. He tried to alert 9 but couldn't make a sound. All too quickly, something sprang from the leaves and jumped at 5.

* * *

Things back at the village were tense. Everyone felt as if something was wrong but couldn't place what it was. The Numbered and the remaining stitchpunks had met to talk about this strange feeling. 1 was not being optimistic.

"But you have to think about it!" he insisted. "If Jeden was set free, why is it impossible for The Machine to have been set free?"

"Because," Viisi responded, "Jeden only touched The Source. He wasn't absorbed by it like The Machine was. That simple touch pulled his soul out of his body and immediately sent him into the forest."

"All assumptions!" 1 continued as 3 and 4 poked their heads out from the wall. The twins had been scared to face the Numbered. 1 was making them very angry and 2 seemed to disappear when the twins wanted to hide behind someone. Fortunately, 2 was right behind them. Unfortunately, he was agreeing with 1.

"1 may not be so far off," the old stitchpunk interjected. "We are making a lot of assumptions about this."

Viisi was getting frustrated. "Fine! Let's say Jeden was absorbed into The Source. What's making the smoke in the forest?"

Neither one could answer safely. However, 1 was not worried about that. "Maybe his soul was sent to the forest, but how could he start a fire? What has he possessed? And for that matter, if he's set free, what about The Machine?!"

The argument continued for what felt like hours. Twee could barely stand it. He was hunched over a magnifying glass with a pair of forceps, carefully looking over The Source. It seemed like all anyone did nowadays was argue. Out of his peripheral vision, Twee saw the argument walking towards him or, to be more specific, the window. He barely glanced up when 1 and Viisi walked around him to the window.

"You've entertained me with wonderful theories," 1 said in an angry tone, "but you have yet to explain the smoke that is rising up at random intervals of time!"

"Jeden is trying to signal us!" Viisi responded.

"Humph!" 1 said as he began walking back to the others. He continued without taking his eyes off of Viisi. A huge mistake.

While ranting on about the smoke and Jeden, 1 neglected to watch where he stepped and walked right into The Source.

"Shit!" Twee exclaimed and jumped back, dropping The Source onto the table.

Everybody was waiting for a flash of green light, for 1's body to fall over completely lifeless. But it didn't happen.

1, who had braced himself for whatever was to come, slowly looked around and relax a bit. The others looked at him in shock. 3 and 4 were the first to move. They quickly began poking 1 and cataloging for any differences.

"How are you…?" Atte got up from his chair to get a better look.

"Are you sure The Source touched him?" Shida asked, moving right to the table's edge to get a better look.

"I'm sure," Twee said it in a feeble tone. "I felt the push against it."

Having looked their leader over, 3 and 4 flashed at each other to see if the other had found anything wrong.

"What happened to him?" 2 asked the twins. All they could do was shrug. Nothing had happened to 1 as far as they could tell.

1 looked around at the others. "6 did say that I couldn't touch The Source, right?" Everyone nodded.

The twins had moved over to The Source and were now busy cataloging it. After a minute or two, the stitchpunks simply glanced from 1 to The Source and shrugged again.

"Well, why am I suddenly able to touch it?" 1 said in a demanding yet scared voice.

"Maybe it's not suddenly," Everyone turned to 2 when he began to speaking. With a hand under his chin, the old stitchpunk paced back and forth while thinking the situation over. "Perhaps 6 didn't see this. Maybe, you were able to touch it ever since Jeden was taken into it."

There was a long silence before the first question. "Why can he touch it now that Jeden is…?" Shida couldn't bring himself to say dead because, in his mind, there was a good chance that the doctor wasn't.

"Well," 2 looked at Shida when he spoke, "we figured out that 9, 7, 4 and 3 could touch The Source, but we never figured out why. I'd like to propose the theory that they could touch it because there was no imbalance with their souls."

"Imbalance?" Viisi asked, a little worried about where this was heading.

"It's only natural to think that during our rebirths,"2 explained, "parts of your soul went with ours and some of our souls were left behind in you. So, our bodies are trying to make the two different souls become one, but that won't work."

"Why? Why won't it work?" Shida asked.

"Because no two souls are exactly alike," 2 continued. "It would be like trying to surgically put two people together and get one person that has the looks, likes, dislikes and even thoughts of both people."

Atte interrupted. "But why can 1 touch it now?"

2 thought for a moment before speaking. "The only reason I can see," 2 concluded, "is that when Jeden's soul was taken, his soul took the piece of his own soul from 1 and gave the other piece of 1's soul back to 1, creating a balance of souls between the two."

"That's a bit far-fetched, isn't it?" Viisi asked.

2 shrugged. "It is, but I can't think of any other reason for it."

"So, wait," Twee motioned to 1. "If 1 and Jeden had an imbalance in their souls, does that mean… we have an imbalance in our souls?"

A grave nod was the only answer 2 gave.

"Well," Viisi was a little nervous, "that's alright! I mean, it hasn't caused us any problems so far. And the way it seems, as long as we don't touch The Source, we'll be fine!"

Everyone simply nodded. 3 and 4 looked at one other in worry. 7 and 9 would have known how to handle this. What were they supposed to do? Everyone was worried about what would happen to their souls and 1 was too freaked out by the discovery to do anything about it. The twins hoped that the others would return soon with Jeden, and that this whole matter could be solved without trouble.

* * *

5 fell to the ground. Up in the sapling, a wolf-like creature clung to a branch as it looked at 5 with a deadly glare. After hearing the commotion, 9 saw 5, then the creature and knew what he had to do. Sure, he was in shock over the whole thing (the machines had died years ago), but that didn't hinder his reaction to them.

Reaching into the bag 5 had brought, 9 pulled out the exacto-blade and threw it to 5 in the nick of time. The beast jumped forward. 5, still flat on his back, held up the blade for the beast to land on. The machine stretched out its legs to stop from falling on the blade but it pierced through its hand. It pulled up its hand in a howl. 5 took this opportunity to push himself up and run towards a tree.

9 was rummaging through the bag, trying to find another weapon to help his friend. Finally, he found a nail that he could use as a strange spike/sword. Holding the sword reminded 9 of someone. "8!" he said to himself.

Quickly coming up with a plan, 9 grabbed two tacks and ran towards the sapling 5 had climbed up. 5 had temporarily escaped the beast by hiding under the raised roots of a tree, but the machine was making quick work of slashing through them. 5 had his arms over his head in a feeble attempt to protect himself. 9 knew he had to act fast.

Shimmying up the tree took longer than 9 had thought; the machine had almost gotten to his friend. He had to look around frantically to find the others (it turns out they had started playing a game of hide-and-seek). Finally, he saw 7 in the distance, looking behind grass and trees to try to find 6 and 8.

"7!" 9 shouted as loudly as he could. The creature looked up at 9, finally realizing that there was more than one stitchpunk around. It gave a roar so loud that 8 and 6 rushed out of their hiding places.

The creature jumped at 9 and came into full view of 7, 6 and 8. "6, stay here!" 7 shouted as she and the big stitchpunk ran to their friend's aid.

5, taking the chance to run out from under the mangled roots, ran to his bag and pulled out a makeshift grappling hook he and 2 had built. He saw 7 and 8 running towards 9 and ran to intercept them. 5 loaded the grappling hook and waved towards 7 and 8.

The two saw 5 and grabbed hold of each other. 7 took 5 by the shoulder as he fired the grappling hook at the wolf. 7 raised her spear, 8 his sword and 5 his blade.

The wolf looked at the grappling hook around his leg then to the three stitchpunks coming his way. Dropping 9 and running back into the trees, the wolf couldn't avoid being hit in the side. In frustration, the wolf swung the three into a close tree. 5 got the worst of the blow as they fell back to the forest floor. The wolf roared back at them before running out of sight.

"What was that?" 8 pulled 9 to his feet as he asked the question.

"It looked exactly like a machine," 9 dusted himself off. "In fact, I don't think there's any doubt. That was a machine."

7 walked towards the two. "But how could it have survived this long without anyone noticing it?"

"Aah!"

The stitchpunks turned to find 5 struggling to stand. His left foot was bent backwards. The three rushed to his side with the backpack in 9's hands.

"Are you alright?" 7 asked.

5 smiled at his friends. "It's fine. I just need to tighten the joint a bit. 9, there should a small tool at the bottom of the bag. Could you...?"

9 handed the tool to 5 and saw 8 looking around in worry. "What's wrong?"

"Where's 6?" 8 stood up, looking through the saplings for the little artist. Even 5 looked up from his work to look for their friend.

"He's probably where we told him to wait," 7 said while scanning the forest.

9 remained worried. "Maybe we should go look for him."

8 stayed with 5 as the others walked back to 6's position. After the machine attack, no one wanted to be left alone. At first, 7 and 9 couldn't find 6. No matter where they looked, it was as if 6 had vanished into thin air. The two started to panic. What if the wolf had-?

7 shouted, "I found him!"

9 ran up to 7 and found 6 drawing in the dirt.

"6," 7 smiled in relief as 9 reached them, "you'll get dirt stuck in your fingers."

Suddenly, with a smile, 6 stepped back and pointed to his drawing. "Go back."

The two stitchpunks looked at his drawing in shock. At a time like this, 6 had begun drawing those morbid scenes where their friends had died. This one was the hole in the wall 2's body has gone in. 6 faced the two with an uncharacteristic serious look on his face.

"Go back."

"Go back where?" 5 and 8 had found the others and just seen the drawing.

6 pulled 5 and 8 closer to the drawing. "Go back."

7 looked 6 in the eye. "6, you want us to go back to the library?"

The artistic stitchpunk nodded.

"Bu-wait," 8 said. "We just got attacked by a machine. Instead of trying to find out what's going on and heading back to check on everyone, you want us to go to the library?"

"What good will that do?" 5 asked.

6 turned to 9 as his last hope. "The answer. Go back."

He couldn't believe it, he was back in this situation. 6 could only confide in him and it was up to him to figure out what the right thing to do was. How am I supposed to know what to do? Before, it only made sense to listen to 6. I mean, everyone's lives were in the balance and... It's almost the same here. If I trusted 6 the last time and he had been right, why should this time be different? But, there's so little we know right now...

9 turned to the others. "Maybe we should go to the library. I mean, there's a lot of information there and that's where 6 wants us to go anyway."

"But what about warning the others?" 7 was clearly worried about everyone. "We have to warn everyone about this machine."

6 shook his head and pointed to his drawing. "The answer's there!"

5, who had been scratching his chin in thought, finally spoke. "Maybe we should split up again. Some of us could go back with the news and the others would go to the library."

"Well, we need someone with strength in each team," 7 said.

9 said, "Well 7, you stayed with 3 and 4 in the library for a while, you might know where the important information is."

7 nodded. "And this is all 6's idea so he should definitely come with me."

"Then we'll go back to the village and-" 9 began.

"No, 9," 5 said. 9 turned towards 5 as his friend continued. "6 has been showing you his drawings. He must want you to go with him."

9 paused. "Will you two be alright on your own?"

8 swung his sword in front of him and smirked at 9. "We can handle ourselves just fine."

5 smiled at 8 then turned to the others. "Once you get the information you need, come back to the village. We'll tell everyone what's going on and make sure everyone's safe."

The two groups turned to leave before 5 held out his hand to stop 8. He searched through his bag and pulled out a map and a needle with string. Running after the others, he shouted, "9!" 9 turned and ran to meet his friend. "Take this," 5 handed the things to 9. "You probably need them more than we do."

9 smiled at the one-eyed stitchpunk. "We'll see you once we figure out what's going on." The two hugged before going back to their groups. 6, inspired by the two, ran up to 8 and hugged him. The look on 8's face was priceless; 7 could barely contain herself as she went up to the large stitchpunk and patted him on the shoulder. 8 smiled at her and, awkwardly, patted 6 on the back before 6 let go. And with that, the groups went their separate ways, with no idea what the other had waiting for them.

* * *

Twee slowly crept through the stitchpunks' house, shaking a bit as he opened the door to the upstairs room. Everything they had found out today... it was too much for him. He had tried talking to Atte and Viisi about it but...

_Atte and Twee had gone to Viisi's house to talk about what they had learned. Twee and Viisi were obviously shaken up about it but it was hard to tell what Atte was thinking. It was late when they arrived at Viisi's house. Viisi had just made sure Shida was asleep when he answered the door and let the two in. Twee paced around the hallway while Atte took a seat in the living room. Twee and Viisi followed him, Twee still pacing and Viisi standing there, glancing between the two._

_"So," Atte was the first to speak, "what exactly do we make of what we've learned?"_

_Viisi fiddled with his thumbs before answering. "I don't really know. I mean, to think about our souls being... It's not very comforting."_

_"Well, I don't know about you," Twee continued pacing as he talked, "but I don't like my soul being with someone else. I... I want it back."_

_There was a silence for a while. "I do agree with you," Atte said, "but I'm not going to do anything about it."_

_"You're serious?!" Twee started yelling. "Part of your SOUL is in something else! And you're just going to let it stay that way?"_

_Atte nodded. "I'm not about to take 8's life. There's no proof that we're in any danger as long as we don't touch The Source."_

_"I kind of agree with Atte," Viisi said. "If it means sending 5's soul back into nothingness, I can't do that."_

_Twee stared at them. "You're both serious. What about your family? Viisi, what about Shida? His life hangs in the balance!"_

_"I KNOW!" Viisi lowered his eyes after he shouted at his friend. "I know. But even though I look after him, he was old enough to bring back 6 to life. So, it's his choice and I know he won't let any harm come to 6."_

Twee couldn't believe them, all willing to go the rest of their lives wife a piece of them missing! He picked up a pair of tweezers and moved towards The Source. Well, I can't live like this. I won't live with a part of my soul missing. I have a wife and a child. I can't live with the risk of losing them forever... I just can't.

With The Source in hand, Twee walked down the stairs as quietly as he could. He went to the table where the stitchpunks slept at night. 3 had gotten top bunk and was almost falling off the bed, 4 making an almost snoring sound. 1 seemed to have been tossing and turning all night but had finally fallen asleep. But they weren't why Twee had come.

2 was fast asleep with a smile on his face, unaware of the danger coming closer to him. Twee could feel tears welling up as he moved The Source closer to his stitchpunk counterpart. He wiped his eyes and took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry, 2."

* * *

Okay, sorry to end it right here, but I felt I should update ASAP. I want to apologize once more for not updating like I promised. I'll try and update again really soon. Thanks to everyone who kept reading and to all new readers, comments are appreciated. I hope you stick around for the next chapter.


End file.
